God on the Gridiron

I just finished helping to coach a peewee football team for Tucker’s team. We went through various blocking and tackling drills. I got excited when the kids got it right and delivered a bone jarring tackle or a beautifully executed block. We worked hard and had fun all at the same time. I taught the fundamentals of the game and encouraged jobs well done. It was a fun night of coaching and a powerful night of ministry before all was said and done.

When practice ended I struck up a conversation with my friend whom I have been praying for and witnessing to since I met him at the start of the season. Tonight we had our best conversation. For thirty minutes I got to listen to his tragic boyhood story followed by a series of deep and thought provoking questions. I countered his questions with the glorious gospel message.

I clearly and concisely communicated the gospel message to him in faith that God was using it. He thought it was tough that God says the only way to salvation is through Jesus. He asked about other religions and about other nations where Jesus is not esteemed as the son of God. I told him the truth and my personal experience of meeting Jesus as a rebellious teenager back in 1983.

The sun set and daylight faded on the gridiron as we talked about God and the way to salvation. We discussed how people were saved in the Old Testament and we discussed Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins under the new covenant. We talked about faith and believing God even exists. He did not accept Christ but he did tell me he told his mother and sister about me. I laughed and told him I had told my wife and the church about him without using his name. I told him I would be his friend whether he ever came to church and would walk this road with him. He told me many people had told them that in his life but he was standing alone. I told him he was not alone because I was standing right next to him. I told him I would not talk but simply show him that I would be a loyal friend to him. Please pray for me to be a faithful and loyal friend both on and off the gridiron.

I pleaded with him to come to church on October 18^th for our High Attendance Sunday. I even invited his wife and his son. Toward the end I told him soberly that he was leading his son somewhere. He can either lead him to Jesus or the complete opposite direction and his son might never know about Jesus.

God has taken two of the things I am most passionate about in life; Him and football and combined them to allow me to share His love with people. I remember some men I had the same privilege of talking to about the Lord back in Paradise and today those men are saved, serving the Lord, and leading their families spiritually. I pray the Lord would do the same thing with my friend here in Seminole.

That is what motivates me to keep coaching and helping with my boy’s sports team. I want to share Christ with those God puts in my path. I am grateful that God orchestrated a relationship with my friend and has opened the door for me to talk to him about the one subject I am most passionate about in this world and that is Jesus Christ.

Jesus can take football, cheerleading, basketball, the oil field, farming, retail, banking, coaching, music, and any other subject or profession and use that to build a bridge to some person who is searching for answers. God can and is using the silly game of football for His eternal purposes.

Though my friend did not commit tonight I left supercharged. Instead of going home I had drop by the office to blog about this. Share Christ. Use whatever passions you enjoy to make a connection with people. We are under obligation and indebted to our community in our generation to point people to the life altering and transforming Savior of the world. He alone is the answer and may we never be ashamed to be let people know. [Rom 1:14-16] “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you and also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Life in the Fast Lane

Since moving to Seminole over a month ago our lives have been lived in the fast lane. We have been going forward full speed ahead, meeting new people, attending meetings, casting vision, watching all four boys play football, traveling to the hospitals, preaching and attending funerals, praying, preaching, witnessing, visiting, and trying to preserve time with the Lord in our personal walks as well as time together as a family.

We as a society wear busyness like a badge of honor. The more we are doing the better we feel about ourselves. Last week I traveled over twelve hundred miles in three days but had the chance to let my life and ministry come to a grinding halt for a day and a half. I slept in until 6:30 a.m. (I honestly did try to sleep in while I was away but awoke early and could not go back to sleep) but enjoyed lingering in the presence of the Lord at my favorite prayer cabin. I intentionally slowed down the rpms of my life and sat and read for hours on end. I journaled extensively and reflected on the fast pace of life I am keeping and allowed the Lord to remind me of some things I had forgotten and reveal some new things I really needed to hear.

Nobody is going to slow down the paces of our lives and move us out of the fast lane for us. While living at break neck speeds few ever call time out and admit their souls are withering and burn out is just one more meeting or event away even though much of the busyness is ministry related. We keep trying to give when the reservoir is empty and we have nothing left to give because we have abandoned and neglected our souls. By sheer force of the will we drag ourselves out of bed to face the fast lane once again. Fatigue of the mind and soul dog our steps like the Blue Bonnet Plague.

I admit there are seasons of life that are going to be busier than others but if we never pull onto the shoulder of life and say, “ENOUGH!” for awhile our souls become dry, hard, and brittle. We become of very little use to the Lord and our fellow men at this point. We know that you can red line the engine of an automobile for prolonged times without having serious damage done and eventually total break down. Why do we think the human soul and body are any different.

Ps 23:2 is good medicine for us at this point. “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.” We can’t follow His lead. He leads us to green pastures and we are up mowing and manicuring the lawn. He leads us beside the quiet waters and we are off trying to build a bridge to get to the other side. We are not good at things like pondering, reflection, meditation, or pulling off onto the shoulder of life. We push the gas pedal down and say “yes” when we should “no” and push ourselves to the brink of exhaustion and breakdown.

While pulling off the fast lane for a day and a half I learned a great deal about myself. The things that renew me the most I often do the least because I feel guilty and want to work hard to honor the Lord and second want to work to set the example of a good work ethic. I am talking about things like praying, writing, and reading. I almost feel guilty to slow down and rest for a season. I feel peer pressure when I tell my kids they are not going to play another sport so we can enjoy being a family.

Our society defines family togetherness as dinner at a drive thru on our way to another practice or another ball game. We seldom eat meals together at the kitchen table and we spend even less time seated at the feet of the Jesus to adore Him and to hear from Him. All of this came crashing down on me in my times of reading, reflecting, and praying.

Here are my solutions. I will continue to make my time alone with God a high priority. These times will not be rushed and hurried but they will be intentional times of lingering with the Lord and being renewed by His presence and His word. I will fight for these times and make them the highest priority and ambition of my life. My best time of the day is the early mornings and this is the time I want to enjoy with God.

Secondly, I will devote my mornings to study of the scriptures. I was born to preach but often busy myself with everything but preparation for preaching like I should. Too often other needs or distractions put study and preaching on the back burner. This must change as I devote myself to both study and preaching of scripture.

Third, I will build more time into my early mornings for reading and reflection. I love books but too often neglect reading for my growth and renewal in light of lesser things. These two activities help rejuvenate my spirit.

Fourth, I will make time with my family a high priority and strive to eat dinners together around the kitchen table accompanied with meaningful conversation. I will fight for this time and not settle for eating on the run or sitting around the television with trays.

Fifth, I will not feel guilty for stepping away from the office to exercise. This will ensure more energy and health for me allowing me to be work more efficiently for the Lord giving me longevity in ministry for the flock at Seminole.

Sixth, I will make writing a more disciplined part of my life and ministry. I allowed nearly two weeks to pass by without writing anything. That is not good stewardship of the gift and calling the Lord has put on my life to write for Him. I will devote part of my day to writing and working toward completion of books.

It’s a simple start to maintain better balance in my life. It is easy to jot these things down and harder to live. I will often intentionally pull off the fast lane for the sake of my Lord, my soul, my family, and the flock the Lord has entrusted to me. I am asking you to do the same.

Take some time and come to a stop. Sit with the Lord and allow Him to build more balance into your life. Life in the fast lane is crowded with broken and burned out people. Let us strive not to be another casualty. See you on the shoulder from time to time.

Solitude

It is early on a Tuesday morning. I will be meeting with some men for a men’s Bible study in about thirty minutes. The Lord woke me early this morning and I enjoyed the rare privilege of some solitude with the Lord. No phone calls. No visitors. No appointments other than the one I kept with the Lord. No distractions. Just the Lord and me. Those times are harder and harder to fight for and to preserve but well worth whatever has to be done and reserve my appointed time of solitude with the Father.

I am reminded of how Jesus often withdrew from the crowds just be alone with God. Maintaining that time with the Father will not happen by accident but rather happen as we are intentional about making that happen. Later on this morning I will be leaving for a ten hour road trip to go and preach back in east Texas. Many people have asked why I am not flying and I did debate on doing that but what finally settled it for me was that by driving I will get about ten hours of complete solitude one way. In all I will get to enjoy another ten hours on the drive back and then I will get to spend two nights in my “prayer cabin” isolated from distractions. I will really enjoy some time with the Lord in that sacred place.

I enjoyed God this morning. Just He and I in the privacy of my office with nobody knowing what took place in that time but He and I. My time in solitude with Him is the highlight of my days. Sometimes I am overwhelmed in His presence and fight back the tears and He reveals Himself and His purposes to me. At other times I am challenged and chastised for wrong attitudes, my doubt and lack of faith, for not living in peace, and for not remaining in Him. He uses His word to assure me of things He wants to do in me and for my family.

It hurt the flesh to roll out of bed early this morning and stumble to the bathroom to begin getting ready. When I finally sat alone in this office with the Creator of the Universe it was worth it a thousand times over. It was worth just sitting before Him and basking in His glorious presence. It was worth driving the dark streets of Seminole and braving the brisk north winds of a cold front that hit me unexpectedly because I did not watch the weather last night.

You see, I determined last night that I was going to meet with the Lord early this morning. I went to bed with a prayer on my lips asking the Lord to get me up early to spend time with Him before Men’s Fraternity. He honored that prayer as He has done multiple times over the course of the last twenty years.

Being alone with God is sweeter to my soul than honey. Enjoying Him in solitude is refreshing and rejuvenates my spirit. I crave solitude with Him so the other voices and the petty noises of this age are silenced so I can give my King my undivided attention and devotion. It is the best part of my day.

I will enjoy my hours of solitude over the next three days. I pray the Lord will meet with me in the cab of my truck as well as in the old rustic two bed room prayer cabin I have made spiritual pilgrimage to over the past fourteen years. We all need a little solitude in our lives. Dear Lord, help us make meeting with you in solitude the highlight of our days and our lives. Please help us to fight for that time and do whatever is necessary to make that happen. May we fight like mighty warriors to guard our times of solitude with you. [Matt 6:6] [Mark 1:35]

Showers of Blessings

I know it has been awhile since I sat at this computer and let the creative juices flow. The truth is I did not spend a great deal of time in this office last week. It was a busy week of ministry which will be another blog. I spent even less time at this computer.

You know how life can get into a routine. You get up, shower, go to work, come home, follow the Indians, eat, fall asleep only to get up and repeat the whole routine. Life is kind of monotonous. We maintain the same routines and our walks with the Lord are habitual but we cannot say on every given day we have witnessed a miracle. Most days are normal days filled with mundane activities. We seek the Lord in prayer and scripture reading and get enough light on our path to help for the next few steps but seldom do we become eye witnesses to miracles.

God is still in the miracle business. This is not a day of miracle famine. When was the last time you beheld God doing a miracle? There are some who might honestly have never seen the Lord do an authentic miracle. I cannot say I am one of those. I have seen God do many supernatural things.

The greatest miracle I have ever seen is watching God save someone. I have seen Him do it with children (like Cameron and Kabrynna who made public professions of faith in the worship service yesterday morning). I have seen Him save teenagers, young adults, middle adults, and even senior adults, Hallelujah. Showers of blessings are falling on us here in Seminole. God is still in the shower soaking saving business and with Church in the Park just around the corner, He no doubt wants to save others.

I have seen the miracle of healing. People have been prayed for and God restored their health without any medical explanation. God can do that and still does that.

I have seen miracles of provision. Sometimes they came in the form of groceries, furniture, vehicles and at other times they have come in the monetary form. I have seen provision of $10 all the way up to $10,000 personally and saw one widow give over $70,000 to her church on one occasion. Praise the Lord. God continues to rain down blessings of provision on His people and His church.

God’s showers of blessings come in all shapes and sizes. Nothing is too difficult for Him. He is more than able to shower blessings on you. A few weeks ago as I left the office to head home it was starting to sprinkle just a little. By the time I turned into the drive way of the mission house a full fledged thunderstorm was hovering over head. I went through the house and sat under the cover over the back porch and did one of my favorite things. I just sat in my rustic rocking chair and watched it rain. I felt the vibrations of the ground beneath me with each boom of thunder. I watch the rain fall heavy at times and then eventually begin to taper off. I sat there in that rocking chair and worshipped the God who sends showers of blessings literally and other wise.

Today started off like any other normal day. I got up and woke the boys with, “Champs it is time to get up. Little champs it is time to get out of bed.” I cooked the four-Ts breakfast and then got dressed. Brenda and I left not long afterward to make a hospital visit in Lubbock and got back mid afternoon after eating lunch at Rosa’s Cafe. Everything was normal until I walked back into my office.

It was then that I beheld a miracle and an answer to many many prayers. I did not know that while I was busy preaching, pastoring, meeting, and praying, over the past several weeks God was sending a spiritual shower of blessing right into my office.

As I made my way to the sacred chair and sat down at the sacred desk, I noticed an envelope that read, “To the Edwards Family.” Intrigued I opened the envelope and stared in disbelief at the contents. Once again God showered me with His blessings. Inside the envelope was a check for $7,800 from the designated fund of FBC Seminole. We do not who gave it but it was and is God’s shower of blessings in answer to prayer. This is part of the prayer Brenda and I have been praying for about buying a house. We did not have down payment money but we have lived by faith and we both believe that God rewards those who walk by faith. [Heb 11:6] We asked the God who called us to leave FBC Paradise to make a way where seemed to be no way to provide for us to have a house here in Seminole. God is doing that! Praise His name!

Not only that, I was showered with the blessings of affirmation all day long Sunday about being the pastor at FBC Seminole from a loving flock about how the Lord is using the messages, and the blessing and watching God move in our services and in the lives of those watching by television. I was showered with blessings of having our meals bought for us multiple times over the past few weeks.

I am overwhelmed by a God who often showers us with blessings when we least expect it. I have prayed and will continue to pray until the Lord finalizes His miracle of the house He has appointed for the Edwards family. I will also celebrate and rejoice with you when we witness God shower His blessings on your life and on FBC Seminole.

When God showers me with blessings I have promised Him I will testify. I have made several phone calls already to brag on God and determined I would not leave the office until this miracle was posted for all to see. His showers of blessings are still falling. I hope you feel the rain drops where you are reading this. If not today, I’d keep my spiritual umbrella available.

Faith Walking

Many people do not understand and, to be frankly honest there have been numerous times when I did not understand, but just the same, I am hopelessly addicted to faith walking. Sometimes it is downright terrifying to hear from God and to proceed forward in faith not seeing the ultimate outcome with your eyes but knowing what God desires to do in your spirit. It might be frightening but it is beyond thrilling to watch when God comes through.

Over and over again over the past two decades of my life I have been summoned by God to live a life of faith walking. This has often meant I did not know my next step. When I gave my to the Lord to preach back in 1985 in the deep east Texas pine thicket of the Pineywoods Baptist Encampment I could have never known then that God would transplant me from the towering pine trees to the flat farm land and wind storms of west Texas. This was just the latest in two decades of faith walking.

It was an act of faith to leave home as a shy and bashful teenager to follow God in a step of faith to go play football for Howard Payne University. It was another act of faith to move to Fort Worth to spend some time at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary after graduating from college. I moved from Brownwood, TX with no place to live, no job, and no money for tuition and in just a few days after I faith walked God made a way for all of those things. I lived in a small furnished duplex, worked at an office furniture company, and God used an anonymous person from my hometown to pay my first year of seminary tuition. My faith grew like a body builder’s biceps who lives in the weight room.

I took another step of faith in marrying Brenda Maria Ortiz on June 29^th, 1991. She committed to being a faith walker with me. We walked by faith to the Spring Creek Baptist Church in Weatherford, TX where we loved on some students and saw God do some amazing things for two years. The youth group grew from less than a dozen to over forty with most of them being saved. We moved from there back to east Texas where I pastored a small country church in Burke, TX; population 314. We learned a great deal about trusting God there for five years before we took the biggest plunge of faith we had ever taken.

I left the full time pastoral ministry to start a traveling ministry. All we had ever learned about being faith walkers was put to use as we trusted God for a place to live, a steady salary, open doors to preach, salvations, and for my books to get published. For five years we continued in the school faith walking, learning, growing, being stretched, and all the while watching God be faithful. [I Thess 5:24]

We learned what it meant to trust God for the unseen [Heb 11:1] as well as to learn to pray in the will of God. [I Jn 5:14-15] God’s answers to our prayers in dramatic fashion increased our confidence to trust Him more. It was during the height of my traveling ministry we felt a call to start a church and for me reenter pastoral ministry. The church ended up disbanding but we sure learned to trust God like we could have never dreamed in those four years. Time would fail me to recount the answers to prayer. Over and over again we found God answers fervent prayers and those prayers can accomplish much. [James 5:16] VERY MUCH!

From there we walked by faith to Paradise where we enjoyed a love and bond with the flock of FBC Paradise for four years that defies description. It was four glorious years of watching God save souls, grow the church, expand our ministry around the world, and expand the vision beyond any of our wildest imaginations. I never dreamed that we would ever leave that place but God firmly, clearly, and consistently revealed that His call for our lives involved another walk of faith to uproot and move our family to Seminole, TX to pastor the First Baptist Church.

Since moving here two and a half weeks ago we have seen God add to the church family, crowded pews, loving and accepting people, and our boys be engrained in the Seminole culture. It was not easy getting them to let go from being Panthers to play for the Indians.

I am convinced with every fiber of my being that [Heb 11:6] is true. “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” I am living proof of that scripture. I am a faith walker and all I have good in my life I owe to Jesus. He led me to Brenda who is the woman crazy enough to faith walk with me time and time again. He blessed me with a wonderful sister in law who is my daughter in my heart as we helped to raise her. I have four great boys. God has met our every need and we have known times of abundance and times of lack but God has rewarded our faith each step of the way.

I will be the first to say that being a faith walker is not always easy but it is always rewarding. What is better than having a front row seat to behold the faithfulness of God and to experience the power of God first hand? That is what we need as individual believers as well as churches. Will you commit to be a faith walker and to lead those you have influence over to be faith walkers with you. It is an amazing adventure. Maybe our faith walking will lead our paths to intersect at some point and we can believe God together for, “abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us.” [Eph 3:20]

Trust At All Times

[Ps 62:8] Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.

Trusting God is hard enough in normal circumstances but learning to trust Him at all times seems downright impossible. What we see with our eyes often clobbers our faith and we find ourselves treading water in a sea of doubt and despair. The real question before us is can God be trusted at all times?

Can God be trusted when you are peering over the edge of the coffin and looking at the lifeless corpse of your loved one? Can God be trusted when the doctor informs that you have cancer? Can the Lord be trusted when your spouse packs up and walks out? Is God still reliable when the bills mount and the income is shrinking? Is God trustworthy when the chronic pain worsens after years of fervent prayer without any seeming response from Him who promises to answer prayer and tells us nothing is impossible with Him?

I too live in the real world and see multiple reasons why people have such a hard time trusting the Lord. I see people who have endured so much hardship and tragedy. I am not talking about wicked people. I am talking about good people who love God and serve Him wholeheartedly. I have watched over the past six years as my wife has battled rheumatoid arthritis. I have heard her moan in pain through tormented sleepless nights. I have watched her hobble around in the early mornings to get her joints working. I have watched her wring her hands as they writhed in pain from trying to write thank you cards. Why won’t God heal her? He has the power? He would get glory from doing it? His kingdom would be furthered as she would have more energy to serve Him and we would have more money freed up from not having to visit the doctor or buy medications to invest in building the kingdom.

We have stood on faith and for months she lived without taking her medicines in belief that God would heal her but the pain only worsened and her joints only stiffened more. Eventually she sensed the Lord telling her that her not being healed was not due to a lack of faith. God has simply not chosen to heal her as of yet. That is pretty hard to live with and trusting God in seasons like that can be a challenge.

The word “trust” in this passage means to be confident, to be sure, to be bold and careless. How do you proceed through life in confidence and with boldness and surety when it seems that God is not coming through for you or not coming through for you in the way that you had hoped? How can you possibly trust Him at all times when you are convinced God is not faithful at all times? This is the crux of the matter.

Is the God Jehovah faithful at all times? Is He always reliable and always trustworthy? Before we proceed; those questions beg for an answer. Not some trumped up Sunday School answer but the truth you believe at the core of your being. Can Creator God be trusted with every life and in every season of life? Depending on how you answer that question will in large part determine what you believe about God.

I have met numerous people in my life who loved to brag. They bragged about being the best basketball player, fisherman, hunter, football player, etc. Now when God says something about Himself He is not bragging. His very nature is true and truth telling. [Deut 7:9] [Is 49:7]I Thess 5:24] [I Jn 1:9] [Rev 2:10]Rev 19:11] These are only a few times in the scriptures when God says about Himself, “I am faithful.” He is trustworthy and reliable. As for me I choose to believe this by faith even when I cannot understand why my wife aches every moment of every day and why God chooses not to heal her or in hundreds of other circumstances I do not understand.

Trusting God is a matter of faith and far too many people want to see before they believe. This didn’t work in Jesus’ day. People saw Him perform miracles and they still chose not to believe. “And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching.” [Mark 6:1-6] We are living in a faithless age. Faith is almost as extinct in the pews of many churches as out in the pagan world.

If we can do nothing else today at least let us pray the prayer of the father in [Mark 9:24], “I do believe; help my unbelief.” If we are going to learn to trust God at all times we need to learn to pray that prayer at all times especially at times when we are tempted to doubt and forsake the faith.

Lord, help our unbelief and help us to trust you at all times even when it hurts, even when our tears cloud our view of you, when the pain does not stop, when the burdens gets heavier, and when others like Job’s wife tell us to curse you and die. Help us, enable us, empower us to trust you at all times. In Jesus name, Amen.

Fault Finder

There are people in this life who live to find fault in others. They can nit pick every detail in another person’s life focusing on the flaws rather than the other person’s potential. Some people walk through life seeing everyone and everything as half empty. These people are extremely negative, opinionated, and are like leeches that suck and drain the life out of others.

Jesus had some pretty strong words for fault finders. “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye. Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take the speck that is in your brother’s eye.” [Luke 6:41-42]

Why is it any easier to find fault in others? We can find fault in the way people dress, the way they talk, the work ethic of people, as well as the socio-economic status of people. While we are very often harsh on others we are much more lenient on ourselves. We hold other people to a higher standard than we are willing to live out in our own lives. Jesus calls this hypocrisy. You heard Him right. If we live finding fault in others especially when we are not living by those same standards in our own lives we are hypocrites. It is easier to divert attention from our own sin by casting blame and finding fault in other people’s lives. God is not fooled.

There are few words that would be more offensive to a Christian than being called a hypocrite. That can mean being a pretender or a play actor. Many people who sit in the pews on Sunday morning could win the academy award for the pretense and play acting that takes place there. If we show up on Sundays to scrutinize everyone else rather than to ask the Lord to, “Search me, O God and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way,” [Ps 139:23-24] then we are indeed hypocrites. When the Lord reveals the flaws in our own lives we should follow up with the prayer, “Create in me a clean me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” [Ps 51:10] We should rejoice in the truth that, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [I Jn 1:9]

If you show up week after week under the preaching and teaching of the word of God and all you get out of it is what is wrong with everyone else you are in trouble. If you do not feel convicted from time to time about the faults in your own life you just might very well be the hypocrite Jesus was referring to in [Luke 6:42] God is continuing to do His good work in us. [Phil 1:6]

Our focus must first be turned upward to seek God and hear from Him and then inward as we search our hearts for our own sin and rebellion. If we are busy doing those two things we will not have much time to focus on the flaws of those around us. We need to be a people who seek to live consistently and who are willing to extend grace to others as we have received grace from the Lord Jesus.

We are in danger of falling into spiritual pride. Beware lest we think we have arrived spiritually. We have nothing to boast in except the cross of Christ and His amazing grace. [Gal 6:14] [Eph 2:8-9] Who are you and I who are sinners to spend our time finding fault in others? Judgment must begin at my house first. I’ve got my own logs to remove before looking at the splinters in your eyes.

Instead of being fault finders in others let us spend our days in being splinter seekers in our own lives. That would be honoring to God.

Divine Appointment

Yesterday was another busy day. I did not leave the office until 5:45 p.m. and needed to be at two places at one time by 6:00 p.m. Turner had meet the teacher at his school and Tucker had football practice both at 6:00 p.m. Brenda was already busy with taking Tanner to pick out his band instrument and then to his football practice.

I rushed home and made it to Turner’s school. Brenda rescued me by taking Tucker to his practice as well. Turner and I made it to Tucker’s practice (where I am supposed to be helping coach) about thirty minutes before it ended. In all of the rush of the day I had barely even thought about football practice. I was tempted to not even show up for the last few minutes but I gave my word. I had no idea what God had in mind. When it ended I struck up a conversation with a businessman which turned out to be a divine appointment.

I asked him how business was going and we talked about some other surface level things for awhile. Without warning or expectation God turned the conversation to serious spiritual matters. This man knows I am the new pastor of FBC Seminole and he began talking about the number of people in his life that have been close to him who died. He just lost a close friend who was murdered tragically only days before. He told me he has a hard time letting go when people he loves die and he has a lot of questions but most people skirt the questions for fear of offending him. He wanted straight talk.

We did not have time to get into his questions but I knew the Lord had opened a door even if it was just a crack to go deeper into spiritual matters on the practice field so I barged in. I quoted two scriptures that came to mind. I quoted my all time favorite verse; [Phil 1:21], “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” We talked about when you have Jesus in your heart death is not something to fear but rather something to look forward to because of the hope of Heaven. I explained to him that the word gain Paul used meant profitable or lucrative.

My new friend is pretty successful. He doesn’t have to say so. I see what he drives and have been to his place of business and seen the success of what he does. I told him it would be easy to live for this world and to seek to live to make ourselves more at home in this world. When a person lives for this world, death is something to fear and to try to fight off. Death is the enemy for every person who tries to insulate himself from death by the comforts and luxuries of life but all these things fade in time.

Next, I quoted [Matt 16:26], “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” I allowed the weight and truth of God’s word to sink deep into his mind and his heart. I could tell he was mulling over that truth. We discussed setting up a lunch appointment to talk further.

God allowed me to witness for Him by simply listening to the comment, “I’m having a hard time letting go.” God divinely appointed that conversation and that comment. God orchestrates such conversations all the time if we are listening with spiritual ears. He is guiding topics and conversations so that His truth might be proclaimed outside the walls of church. Are we really listening to other people and what they are saying? Do we hear the clear cut cry of their souls as they search for answers and meaning to the confusion of life?

God wants to speak to us and through us if we are willing to be His vessels. People are asking the right kind of questions. God is drawing those people into relationships with us so we can be ambassadors for Christ to people who may never darken the door of our churches. We have to be ready at a moment’s notice when God gives us those divine encounters and sways conversations toward spiritual matters. I am grateful that God allowed me to speak to my new friend. I look forward to our lunch together. Now, I challenge you to listen attentively to what people are saying and asking. God very well may be opening a door for you to talk about spiritual matters as well. Be ready in season and out of season to speak a word for Christ for divine appointments await you.

At the Proper Time

I admit that I am not the most patient person in the world. I used to get model cars and airplanes as a little boy for Christmas or a birthday and I would often give them away to some other person because I was not patient enough to put them together. Regardless of how impatient many of us may be God has a way of putting us in situations that try us and force us to wait on His intervention.

I was reading in the book of Luke this morning about the story of Zacharias and Elizabeth being without a child and the way the Lord worked in their hearts and their lives. The story is found in [Luke 1:5-24] The Lord used this passage in my life to speak to me and to call me into deeper faith.

God sent His angel Gabriel to deliver a specific message to Zacharias while he was ministering in the temple. “..your petition has been heard and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.” [Luke 1:13, 16]

The message was clear and it was sent by God. All Zacharias had to do was to receive the word by faith and wait on God to act. He doubted though. He wanted to know for certain this would come to pass. God’s message through Gabriel had not been enough. Aren’t we the same? Don’t we doubt God and want more and more reassurance that what He says is going to come to pass? Doubt creates a wedge between what God wants to do and the present reality of our situations.

Here is where the Lord spoke to me this morning; “And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my word which will be fulfilled at the proper time.” [Luke 1:20] I was first convicted at how easily I can doubt what God has spoken. I start asking for reassurances which is nothing more than doubt disguised. God wants us to take Him at His word. He keeps His promises and does what He says He will do.

Who reading this has not struggled with doubt at some point. Why are we so slow to believe the Lord standing firm on His promises? I know for me it often comes down to what I see more than who I believe in. My eyes trick me and reality can hinder faith.

I was challenged to be a man who simply believes God for whatever He calls me to believe Him for. I want to believe God for lost people to be saved. I want to believe God for greater influence and impact of FBC Seminole on the community. I want to believe God that our worship services are making a difference and we are meeting with God in powerful ways. I want to believe that God is transforming lives through the power of His Spirit and the truth of His word. I want to believe God for impossible things that bring greater glory to Him.

I meditated and prayed through that truth and then was hit between the eyes with another truth. Gabriel told Zacharias that his son would come at the proper time. There would be a season of waiting in silence because of Zacharias’ doubt. The Lord reminded me that even when we do have faith to believe Him for things that often we still have to wait. Waiting is built into the Sovereign design of God. He uses periods of waiting to orchestrate His purposes and His plans. It is the will of God many times for us to wait and the delay in answered prayers may have nothing to do with our faith but everything to do with the timing of God.

Maybe you are waiting today and have been waiting for a long time. Maybe you are beginning to doubt. I want to remind you that if God spoke to you and told you to believe Him for something please do not doubt. Some answers take longer than others. Whether you are just beginning to wait or have been waiting for a long time; God has a proper time for everything. [Eccl 3:1] “There is an appointed time for everything. There is a time for every event under heaven.”

Trust God for what He promises and trust Him to deliver at the proper time. I assure you while you wait God is not wasting time. He is at work in ways we cannot we see but nevertheless everything is working according to His schedule of events. That is reassuring. We can trust that God faithfully comes through so we have no need to doubt and do not need to be alarmed that at times God wills for us to wait. He is always on time and His timing is always proper.